ODCA Survey Shows Cloud Adoption Ramping Up

By Robert Gelber

September 12, 2012

The Open Data Center Alliance (ODCA) has just released the results from their second annual survey conducted at this year’s solutions provider summit. The findings show that members are implementing cloud technologies faster than originally anticipated. Respondents also appeared to be prepping for much further adoption over the next three years as well.

Since June 2011, the ODCA has published eight usage models aimed at addressing the barriers to cloud computing. The models receive input from ODCA’s 300-plus member organizations, which include Red Hat, EMC, VMware, AT&T, CERN, Teradata and others. These companies are committed to the future success of cloud technologies and their responses to the survey may offer unique insights into the technology’s upcoming landscape.

This sentiment was echoed by Mario Müller, the organization’s chairman and vice president, as part of an official statement:

Our diverse membership provides us with a unique perspective on the trends and challenges surrounding cloud computing… This survey not only shows that companies are increasingly using the cloud for critical business applications, but are also making their IT purchasing decisions based on ODCA requirements. Clearly, the ongoing, collaborative efforts of the ODCA are having a major impact on the industry.

The Results

A common trend in cloud surveys involves respondents expressing concern about potential security risks. In this case ODCA, members were no different, with an overwhelming majority (83%) saying that data security is limiting their adoption of the cloud. Regulatory issues (47.5%), reliability of services (44.2%) and potential of lock-in (39.3%) also received noticeable attention from the group’s members.

While the participants were open about potential issues with cloud technologies, they also appeared rather confident about implementation and future adoption.

The majority of ODCA members (93.8%) are in some stage of cloud planning or implementation. When asked to predict their level of cloud adoption for the year 2015, about one-quarter anticipated running more than 40% of their operations in a public cloud. A roughly three-fold increase in adoption versus today’s numbers. ODCA members were even more confident about private cloud with a majority of the respondents (58.6%) anticipating that at least 40% of their operations would be running on dedicated hardware. Furthermore, a significant number of respondents (30.1%) have plans to implement a mixed strategy that incorporates both internal and public deployments.

The attraction to private cloud technology ties in with the previously-mentioned security concerns shared by users; while the hybrid cloud option presents the best-of-both-worlds scenario: marrying the security and control of a private cloud with scalability and flexibility benefits of a public cloud.

The takeaway for this survey is that cloud adoption is ramping up ahead of the ODCA’s expectations. As security measures improve and as workplace culture catches up with technology, users may find more use cases for all modes of cloud deployment.

Petaflop per second deep learning training performance on the NERSC (National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center) Cori supercomputer has given climate scientists the ability to use machine learning to identify e Read more…

By Rob Farber

Activist investor Starboard Value has been exerting pressure on Mellanox Technologies to increase its returns. In response, the high-performance networking company on Monday, March 12, published a letter to shareholders outlining its proposal for a May 2018 extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of shareholders and highlighting its long-term growth strategy and focus on operating margin improvement. Read more…

By Staff

Quantum is coming. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon enough. Within 10 to 12 years, we’re told, special-purpose quantum systems will enter the commercial realm. Assuming this happens, we can also assume that quantum will, over extended time, become increasingly general purpose as it delivers mind-blowing power. Read more…

By Doug Black

HPE Extreme Performance Solutions

High Performance Computing (HPC) is unlocking a new era of speed and productivity to fuel business transformation. Rapid advancements in HPC capabilities are helping organizations operate faster and more effectively than ever, but in today’s fast-paced marketplace, a new generation of technologies is required to reach greater scalability and cost-efficiency.Read more…

The last couple of years have seen cloud computing gradually build some legitimacy within the HPC world, but still the HPC industry lies far behind enterprise IT in its willingness to outsource computational power. The m Read more…

By Tiffany Trader

Nuclear scientists working at the All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics (RFNC-VNIIEF) have been arrested for using lab supercomputing resources to mine crypto-currency, according to a report in Russia’s Interfax News Agency. Read more…

By Rosemary Francis

SC is over. Now comes the myriad of follow-ups. Inboxes are filled with templated emails from vendors and other exhibitors hoping to win a place in the post-SC thinking of booth visitors. Attendees of tutorials, workshops and other technical sessions will be inundated with requests for feedback. Read more…